White House Should Coordinate Geoengineering Research to Help Fight Climate Change

Published October 30, 2010

| FoxNews.com

The White House should come up with a strategy for federal research into large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system that could help tackle climate change, a new watchdog report concludes.

The Government Accountability Office found in its report more than 50 current studies, totaling slightly more than $100 million, focusing on piecemeal strategies to reverse climate change, but none directly addresses what would happen if adventurous programs on carbon dioxide reduction and solar radiation management were put in place.

"Without a coordinated federal strategy for geoengineering, it is difficult for agencies to determine the extent of relevant research, and policymakers may lack key information to inform subsequent decisions on engineering and existing climate science efforts," the report said, adding that most of the $2 billion spent each year on federal climate science research could also help geoengineering with better coordination.

Geoengineering either removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or offsets temperature increases by reflecting sunlight back into space.

GAO cautioned that these strategies poses some environmental risks that could be hard to contain.

"Major uncertainties remain regarding the scientific, legal, political, economic and ethical implications of researching or deploying geoengineering," the GAO report read.

The GAO prepared the report for Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology.

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Angle: 'Shock and Awe' in Washington on Nov. 3

LAS VEGAS -- Sen. John McCain delivered a rousing endorsement Friday of Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle and urged cheering supporters to send her to Washington as part of a historic turnaround in Washington power.

A confident-sounding Angle, locked in a tight race with Majority Leader Harry Reid, predicted "there is going to be shock and awe in Washington" on Nov. 3, the day after the election.

"We need to take back our economy," she said. "It's our government and it's our money."

McCain, the 2008 presidential nominee, told the crowd at a Las Vegas casino that the "election will change America. The world is watching.

"Sharron brings hope and Sharron brings action," he said after embracing the former Reno legislator on stage, with an oversized American flag draped behind them.

McCain's appearance was intended to bolster Angle's credibility, particularly with moderates, in a campaign in which Reid has relentlessly attacked her as a fringe conservative unfit for office. A succession of speakers, including actor and conservative activist Jon Voight, said her election would help turn back two years of Democratic policies that had damaged the nation's standing at home and abroad.

The invited crowd cheered, "Dump Harry Reid."

Across town, Reid was targeting Filipinos, the second largest foreign-born group in Nevada, at a crowded rally with popular Filipino boxer and congressman Manny Pacquiao.

Reid and Pacquiao entered the room to chants of "Manny, Manny." In a brief speech, Pacquiao endorsed Reid in his native Tagalog.

Reid, a former boxer, denounced Angle's conservative views, her criticism of Social Security, Wall Street regulation and public health care for veterans.

"Both Manny and I learned it is not enough to fight for yourself, we could do that, we could always do that," Reid said.

Reid urged voters to go to an adjacent mall and cast their ballot.

"Vote tonight," he said. "I need your support."

The dueling events underscored the high stakes and its importance nationally: Reid, the face of Democratic power is Washington, is struggling to win a fifth term against a tea party star whose campaign was broke and fading earlier this year. The race has been shaped by the state's devastated economy: Nevada leads the nation is unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcies.

Reid, meanwhile, launched a new TV ad labeling Angle "pathological," one in a months-long series of harsh advertisements from both sides.

Earlier Friday, the final day of early voting in the state, Angle sidestepped questions from TV reporters who tracked her to the airport, the latest evidence of a strategy to mostly stay away from the media in the dead-heat race with Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"I will answer those questions when I am the senator," she told reporters from CBS and NBC affiliates who surprised her with questions about national security and unemployment at McCarran International Airport.

Pressed further on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Angle added, "The two wars that we are in right now are exactly what we are in."

The brief encounter came as a new poll found the candidates neck-and-neck in the scalding contest that will be crucial in the fight for control of the Senate.

Angle's campaign said it would ban the stations from covering her election night party in Las Vegas because its reporters and camera crews acted like "paparazzi" at the airport.

But Nevada Republican Party spokesman Jahan Wilcox said later the disagreement with the stations was being resolved: "I honestly believe everyone will be there on election night," he said.

The poll conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and KLAS-TV 8NewsNow found Angle had 49 percent to 45 percent for Reid. The four-point difference remains within the poll's margin of error, making the race a dead heat. Three percent said they're still undecided, 1 percent said they support someone else and 2 percent said they want none of the above, an option on the Nevada ballot.

The telephone survey of 625 Nevada voters was conducted this week by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research of Washington, D.C.

Since a debate two weeks ago, Angle has made only a handful of public appearances and her interaction with the media has become virtually nonexistent. Her campaign says she spends much of her time going door to door in rural Nevada or attending private fundraisers.

Reid has left virtually no demographic untapped, meeting with gay Democrats, hosting a rally with former President Bill Clinton in an African-American neighborhood, releasing Spanish-language ads aimed at Hispanics and visiting businesses in Las Vegas' thriving Chinatown.

Kurt Torneskog and his Filipino wife, Maria, turned out for Pacquiao, not politics.

"I don't like the way the country has been going for the past two years," said Torneskog, a conservative Republican who voted for John McCain in 2008. "Harry Reid is too old, he's got old views that are out-of-date."

He said he hopes Angle can help turn around the economy.

"Mostly, she's the alternative," he said.

Anilyn Plateros, 36, from Reno, is one of the coveted undecided voters Reid and Angle have been courting. Plateros, an independent, said she was leaning toward voting for Reid because of his Washington influence.

"He is the Senate majority leader," she said. "We can't replace that."

But Plateros said she would not mind an Angle victory.

"She's very aggressive. I like women who are aggressive," Plateros said. "I would like to see a woman in office."

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Justice Department to Send Election Observers to Arizona as Concern Rises About Illegal Voters

The Justice Department is sending a small pack of election observers to Arizona as Hispanic groups sound the alarm over an anti-illegal immigration group's mass e-mail seeking to recruit Election Day volunteers to help block illegal immigrants from voting.

Hispanic voting rights groups say the e-mail is just an attempt to intimidate minority voters. But election fraud monitors say that there are hundreds of examples of duplicate registrations, wrong information and past unregistered voters getting ballots.

Voter fraud allegations have emerged just days before the midterm in many crucial battleground states across the country, including Nevada, Pennsylvania and Florida.

The Justice Department announced Friday it would deploy more than 400 federal observers to 30 jurisdictions in 18 states ahead of Tuesday's election. But Arizona officials say the department had already committed to sending observers to their state.

Justice Department officials had notified Maricopa County that they would send a "handful" of election observers, even before the e-mail was sent, Matthew Benson, a spokesman for Arizona's secretary of state, told FoxNews.com. 

"We don't know why (the observers are) coming," he said. "But we do not believe it's in response to the e-mails making the rounds."

But William Gheen, executive director of Americans for Legal Immigration, said he knows why they're coming.

"They're sending them out because the Obama administration is doing everything it can to make sure as many illegal aliens vote in 2010 although that is a violation of federal law," he told FoxNews.com.

Benson noted that the Justice Department sends election observers to at least one Arizona county every election. In 2006, the department sent around 30 election observers to Maricopa County, he said.

Benson said the plan had nothing to do with the firestorm elicited by Ban Amnesty Now, or B.A.N., the group that sent an e-mail entitled "6 Days to STOP Illegals from Stealing the Election!"

The e-mail said "open-border criminals" in the unions, the White House and Hispanic groups are "determined to undermine" the election.

The e-mail originally included the signature of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an immigration enforcement proponent and B.A.N. honorary co-chairman, but Arpaio's name was later removed after Sean McCaffrey, the president of B.A.N., said he didn't mean to send out the e-mail attributed to the sheriff.

That didn't deter one voting rights group, Mi Familia Vota, from sending a letter to Justice Department officials Thursday asking them to send election observers.

"We are very concerned when you have Sheriff Joe Arpaio putting out this type of call to the community with the fear and concern that illegals are going to take over the election," said Ben Monterroso, president of the group. "It's not that we're not concerned that the elections are secure, but the way that it's been written – anyone who has the appearance of a foreign person, i.e. being a Latino – then that can create intimidation and violate their rights to vote."

McCaffrey said Friday that, despite the erroneous attribution to Arpaio, he is looking for volunteers to provide information to his group about voter fraud, "especially stories concerning activities involving illegal aliens."

"We hope that by forwarding interested volunteers to state elections officials we may contribute to smooth, fair and legal elections in all 50 U.S. states," he wrote in a blog on the group's website. "Furthermore, we hope that those who seem so shocked and outraged that Americans are concerned about stopping voter fraud will own up to their actions and stop committing vote fraud."

McCaffrey told FoxNews.com in an interview that nearly 500 people have volunteered so far -- about 100 of them in Arizona.

Part of the concern for voter fraud monitors is a result of a ruling this week by a federal appeals court that stripped the state of its ability to request proof of citizenship when residents register to vote. State officials say the ruling could increase the likelihood of voter fraud but not in next week's midterms because the deadline for registration passed before the decision.

At Arizona polls, voters must show one piece of identification that includes their name, address and photograph, such as a driver's license. They also can provide two forms of ID with their names and address, such as a utility bill or bank statement. Voters can also provide one form a acceptable photo ID with another form of non-photo ID that includes their name and address, such as a passport and a utility bill.

Arpaio declined to comment, but McCaffrey told FoxNews.com that he apologized to the sheriff Thursday for using his name without his permission. Arpaio, he said, stepped down as honorary co-chairman.

"He'll continue to support us but he didn't want an official title with the group while he was being investigated by everyone with a badge at the White House," he said, alluding to the Justice Department's investigation into whether Arpaio's office was discriminating against Hispanics with its crackdown on illegal immigrants. 

Monterroso said he's happy the Justice Department is sending poll watchers, even if it's not in response to his group's letter. 

"I think it's the right thing to do," he said. "It's better to be safe than sorry. If they have people out there, we want to make sure people vote without fear of intimidation or harassment by anyone else."

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